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Thursday, April 29, 2010

Doesn't that just sound like a yummy breakfast? Ha! Today is boiled chicken and sweet potato day! Yay! I have been dreaming about this day all week! (not.) But! It's just one day and I will do it. Gotta ring out as much water as I can to see if I can uncover the muscle that is hiding behind all the...uh-hum...water! Too bad you can't pee fat out!

So, I'm down to 2 liters of water today and boiled chicken and sweet potatoes. My stomach was looking pretty good yesterday so hopefully after today it will tighten up even that much more for pictures tomorrow. I am also getting spray tanned tonight with one coat of competition tan. Fat always looks better tan! I'm not trying to get all body-dysmorphic on myself by saying I'm fat or anything, but when you are stripped down to a bikini or whatever skimpy outfit I decide to wear, you start to notice the areas that need work!! LOL!

Yesterday was low-sodium day and looking back I could have gone a lot less sodium than I did and it showed on the scale this morning! Darn it! In fact, I'm not going to described my meals today in the blog because it will be like DUH that's not a low-sodium meal! Moving on, I have all my meals fixed for the next two days, well 2 of the meals are for tomorrow:

After I get my pictures taken, I will probably have a little more than chicken and sweet potatoes! Yesterday, was a poo poo day for exercising. I went for a walk with Justin and our dogs and that was it. I think I tried to run in the morning, but didn't get very far. I can't even remember, I'll have to read my own blog from yesterday to find out!! LOL! I was soo tired and sooo very sore all day that it was making me a little nauseous. Oh and most of my morning was spent at the doctor's office with one of the guys we care for, so I felt all off schedule and a little stressed. Excuses, Excuses. Today is 2 hours of karate and then a cardio class tonight! I love Tuesday, Thursdays and Saturdays because I love cardio and those are big cardio days!

I feel a lot better today. Maybe I needed a little mid-week rest! I feel motivated to get stuff done. I can't wait to see what I'm going to look like when I wake up tomorrow morning!! I'll take pictures at home before I head down to the gym.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Whoa...I am sore and tired today! And it's only 7am! Ha! I got in a short run this morning but I just wasn't feeling it. My legs felt like lead and my back and shoulders are super sore. So I think I got in maybe 2 miles and walked home. I might try again after I lift weights today.

Yesterday was a great day. I went to karate and ran all of my katas and techniques, then it was Kata Krank time! Those are always fun. Justin and I were going to do Plymetrics when I got home but I didn't have enough energy so we did a short run together. After errands were ran and meals were eaten, I headed to my evening cardio class at the karate school. LOVE that class. It is high impact, but I feel so good when it's over!

So, my meals yesterday were Meal #1: egg whites and 1 slice of gluten free bread, Meal #2: 1/2 cup fiber one with 1 scoop of protein powder (the protein powder was cookies and cream and after I mixed it all up, I poured it into my cereal! I can't have milk in my cereal so that is my replacement and it was so good!). Meal #3: more egg whites and 2 slices of gluten free bread. Then we finally got to the store! Thank goodness, I thought I was going to be on an egg and bread diet. I made a huge salad form the salad bar so I could get a couple of meals out of it! So Meal #4: Salad. I got another great recipe from one of my favorite bloggers. It is a crockpot chicken tacos! I threw chicken (I used thighs yesterday per Justin's request, but breast are preferred!), 1 bag of frozen corn, 2 cans of black beans (drained and rinsed), and a large jar of salsa (we used a large container of salsa from Abuelo's that was left over). So I cooked all that on high for 4 hours, shredded the chicken and put it back in the crockpot. We used corn tortillas and topped them with lettuce and cilantro! Holy Cow! They are delicious! This is the yumminess in the crockpot after the chicken has been shredded and added back in:

So, today is weights and hopefully some more running. I may have to hop on the elliptical if I can't get my legs to get with the program today! On a good note, my hip is back to normal! My meals will probably be the same from yesterday. Maybe I'll have chicken tacos in place of more egg whites and bread!

Today is low sodium day as I am getting transformation pictures taken on Friday. Tomorrow is NO sodium day! So, boiled chicken and boiled sweet potatoes will be on the menu. Mmmmm, can't wait for that!

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Good Morning! Today is Kata Krank day at karate and I need to work on my personal kata like crazy! Not to mention the other 26 katas I need to run into the ground before the test! I have to come up with a personal kata for my 3rd degree black belt test. I have some of it done, but I need to get busy and finish it! I only have a couple of weeks until the test! I have a lot of work to do! I also need to run all the basics since it's been forever since I ran those AND I need to run the 300+ self defense moves over and over and over!! whew...I am worn out all ready!

Yesterday was awesome! I ran in the morning, did the Chest/Back and Ab Ripper DVD from the P90X program and then went to yoga at noon! I felt so good all day! I ate my left over chicken, potatoes, veggies meal until it was gone and then for dinner had a taco salad with chips and salsa. All that exercise left me starving for carbs late in the day.

Today is another day packed full of exercise so I need to make sure I get more carbs in during my first 3 meals so I am not so hungry for them in the last 2 meals. I did not run this morning. I am going to karate for 2 hours, coming home and doing plymetrics (P90X) with Justin and then tonight is the cardio class at karate. That will all take it's toll on my body so I thought I better rest up and not run!

And this week was supposed to be my week of rest! Ha! It's so hard for me to do that. I LOVE EXERCISE! I think I'll plan for the week after my 3rd black test to rest! I'm sure my body will be screaming at me by that point, so I'll have to listen!

Monday, April 26, 2010

It's starting off to be a GREAT Monday! I got up and ran first thing this morning without even a drop of coffee in me...insane! I never do that! But I was feeling antsy to get out there since it's starting to get light out at like 6:15am.

My hip felt a little tight when I woke up. I stretched out before I ran and kept it to a 30 minute run. So I probably ran just under 4 miles. I came home and did some stretching and put ice on my hip right away while I drank a cup of coffee! It still feels little tight but it doesn't hurt. I am going to yoga this morning after I lift weights so hopefully I will feel 100% again in the morning and be able to run some distance.

I got a great recipe from a blog I read. She made chicken with carrots, zucchini and new potatoes; tossed in olive oil, whole grain mustard, rosemary, salt and pepper. Well, I didn't have rosemary, carrots, zucchini, or red potatoes, OR whole grain mustard! LOL! So, I made this:

My version is chicken breasts and chicken thighs, regular potatoes, sweet potatoes, broccoli, onion, red bell pepper, and asparagus; all tossed in olive oil, dijon mustard, salt and pepper. All three dishes went in to the oven at 400 for 25 minutes then I tossed the veggies around and turned the chicken and set the timer for another 20 minutes. It was sooooo good. I made A LOT. It took 3 dishes to cook all of it!! The picture is after Justin and I had both had a serving and I combined it all into one dish. I ate that for 2 meals yesterday, Justin ate it for one and then we have tons left over for today! Awesome.

This morning I had 1 slice of gluten free bread and egg whites for breakfast:

It was fabulous!

I have decided that I am definitely starting the P90X today! I have my little calendar all made up of what DVD to do on what day and it's color coded by phase and I can "X" off each day as I do it!! I work well with systems in place like that!! ha! We'll see how it goes. P90X is always hard for me to stick with for the 90 days because it's a lot of the same thing over and over. I do great for the first 60 days and then I get bored. It's an awesome workout, but I need variety!! I am still going to give a shot (again!). I am more structured with my workouts now than in years past when I have done the program.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

My hip is finally back to normal (Thank You, Justin!) and I got in a good, no GREAT, 7 or 8 mile run this morning! I'm not exactly sure how far I ran, but I think that's close enough.

I was just going to do 4 or 5 miles to get back into it, since it's been about 2 weeks since I've been able to do a long run, but once I started it just felt too good to stop! It was the perfect temperature, kind of cool, with a nice breeze. My body felt great. I just had to keep going! I grabbed my dogs and went for a walk when I finished to cool down a bit. Now I am icing my hips just in case and I am going to do some stretches too. I want to keep my hips loose and happy so I can run in the morning.

I was going to take next week off from all exercise to rest my body, but I don't think I am going to be able to do that now that I can finally run again! I have my whole life to rest, I am logging some miles next week! I am excited to go back to yoga on Monday.

I have a great week to look forward to! Yoga, weight lifting at home, karate, running...I have a good life! I am thinking I might start the P90X program again too. A girl I take karate with started it and listening to her talk about it kind of put the fire under me to do it again. Justin is thinking he might want to do it with me too. Fun!

Next up for today is stretching and then FOOD! I am having egg whites and an apple for my next meal.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Today's the day. My last session with Diana Chaloux. I guess I have mixed feelings. I will miss training with her for sure and I will miss her energy and her smiling face for sure, but I feel good about where I am now. A couple of months ago I was nervous that when it came time to not train with Diana I was going to feel like I had just been pushed off a cliff and I would go flying right back into old habits and weight gain. I would get anxious even thinking about not training with her and not having her to answer to every Monday morning. I don't feel that way anymore! It's pretty refreshing! I feel excited about where to go next! Diet is still a daily struggle, but it's manageable. I know what my triggers are (CANDY!) and that I have to keep that stuff out of the house. I know my body doesn't tolerate gluten or dairy well. I know the proper portion sizes for my body. So, although the diet part is an ongoing battle, it's definitely better than it was a year ago!

So, in preparation of not training with Diana (so I won't be so bummed about it), I have been looking at all the good sides to it: The first is, I don't have to drive downtown twice a week anymore! AND, I have my 3rd degree black belt test to look forward to and a plan for my own workouts. My plan is to continue to workout on Mon, Wed and Fri (well, to be honest, START working out on Fridays!) and then go to a yoga class right after. My workouts will be done at home, so as soon as I get the people I take care of off for the day, I will head downstairs and lift weights for 30-45 minutes then hop in the car and head to yoga. I am looking forward to that. I haven't been to a yoga class since December. I have done some at home, but not enough. Plus, I can go running right before I work out because I don't have to eat, get ready and drive 25 minutes to my workout!!

Speaking of running, my hip is feeling better! I am signed up to run the Trolley Run this weekend so I hope I am 100% by then. Justin rubbed on it for an HOUR two nights ago and it really helped. He kept rubbing deeper and deeper and all around the knot and then finally he found the mother of all knots. I thought I was going to cry it hurt so bad, but he just kept working on it and we both finally felt it soften up a bit! Yesterday it was sore, but not HURTING, just like normal muscle soreness. Today it still feels a little sore, but I am going to try to run a little this morning.

This week is my week to retain water. Yay for me! But it makes me realize how much running helps with that. When I feel swollen and bloated, a good run gets that moving and I sweat it out. I haven't been able to do that this week yet and I feel like crap. So, maybe this morning, I can get some miles in and get this water moving out!!

Off to get my morning started and get to my last workout with Diana Chaloux!! Hope everyone is having a great start to the day!

Thursday, April 15, 2010

What's this? Two posts in one week!! I must have something important to share!

I do! Aren't they pretty.......

Of course, I haven't gone on a run yet, because my hip is still sore! Boo! My hip was super sore when I woke up yesterday morning, so I was good and did not go for a run. Instead I did some stretches. Training with Diana actually made it feel better because it got it all warmed up and stretched out. So, Justin and I went for a walk when I got home from that. It was still pretty sore though throughout the day and it was that constant reminder that I needed to get new shoes.

So, I just have to share my whole shoe buying experience with everyone!

A friend of ours recommended the Sports Medicine store which is just down the street from our house. They are awesome! The girl put me on a treadmill and video taped me running. Then we watched it in super slow-motion so she could see how my heal hits the ground. I slightly pronate. She then showed me all the shoes that would help to cushion that and keep my body in better alignment. Oh, and the other thing I learned is that it's worse on my right side than my left....I am still icing my right side!! So, that makes sense now! Because when I got done with my run, both hips were hurting, but the left side got over it pretty fast. My right hip on the other hand is holding a grudge! The next step at the store was finding the shoe that my feet would fall in love with! Once we found out what type of stride I have and which shoe would best support that stride, she pulled out every brand in that category! She had me try on the first pair and run down the street and back. I could feel my hip, but it wasn't unbearable. Of course, when I got back I thought I loved the shoes! She had me take one shoe off and put on another brand so I could compare the two side by side, again...ran down the street and back. Aha! I liked the other shoe better and actually noticed that my foot was moving around in the other shoe, but I never would have noticed that had I not had two different shoes on to compare side by side! So, we went through all the brands like that and once I found the shoe I thought I liked, I kept that shoe on and tried on all the other shoes on the other foot to compare, then put them both on and did a run! I was sweaty by the end of this shoe buying experience! I walked out of there a happy runner though! I talked to my neighbor, who is also a long distance runner, before I went up to Sports Medicine and she had great things to say about it too. She also said if I started icing my hip, I would be back to running in no time. So, I started icing my hip as soon as I got home and did it off and on all evening. Justin rubbed it really good last night and put some Tiger Balm (like Bengay) on it. It felt better when I got up this morning but it's still a little swollen. I have ice on it right now.

I will be doing 2 hours of karate this morning then icing my hip. Then I will be doing a cardio class tonight, then icing my hip! Hopefully by tomorrow, it's better and I can try a short run. I am signed up to do a 10K on Sunday and I really want to do it, but I also need to listen to my body. Taking a couple days off is better than months because I keep hurting myself! I am a terrible patient! I can tell other people what to do all day long, but as soon as I am injured, I start thinking the rules don't apply! I would have told someone else to ice their hip as soon as they got home and it was hurting, but I thought, Oh, it's not that bad, I'll get over it.

I ate another one of those gluten free breakfast pizzas yesterday. I asked Justin to stick a pizza crust in the oven so it would be done when I got home from working out. To my surprise, when I walked in, he was pulling out a delicous egg white, turkey sausage, cheese pizza that he had cooked for me!!! It was so delicous! I was so hungry (as I always am after working out!) and I thought I was going to have to come home and cook the egg whites and sausage for my pizza! I have the best husband! And he knows I can't tolerate a lot of cheese, so there was just the right amount to make it yummy!!

I had oats and protein powder for my first breakfast, the pizza for my second, a turkey patty and a chicken thigh for my third meal and a taco salad for my fourth. I guess I missed a meal somewhere, or I am just forgetting what I ate!

Today is starting off great! I am ready to get to karate and work on my stuff, then take my normal class. Only a little over a month left to train before the 3rd black test! Yikes!

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

I am having a great week. Actually, I have had a great COUPLE of weeks! Nothing too special going on. I think it's the Spring weather and sunshine! We had our 2-year re-licensing inspection last Friday and it was stressfull, but went good! We are in business for another 2 years! Yippee! I filled out my application to test for my 3rd Degree Black Belt! Yikes! I only have 3 sessions left with Diana. Sigh. I will miss her! I feel ready, though, to be on my own with my workouts. I have learned a ton from her about diet and even though that is still my biggest struggle, I feel confident that I can handle it on my own! I have definitely learned what foods my body likes and dislikes! I am working on going completely gluten free. It's so hard, but I feel a lot better without it. I haven't had gluten at all this week so far! I am dairy free as well. That one wasn't as hard and I still may have a little cheese from time to time, but at least I just get mucousy from that and not intestinal cramping!!

I did an awesome 11 mile run last Sunday. My hips were hurting the last 2 miles, but I pushed through thinking it was just because I hadn't gone that far before. BIG mistake, I won't do that again! My right hip STILL hurts and it's Wednesday! I tried to run 4 miles yesterday and ended up walking the last mile. ugh. I am so pissed. I am not running again until the pain is completely gone. I am signed up to run a 10k this Sunday! The park where I ran the 11 miles is super flat and I am pretty sure that is what killed my hips. My body is used to running a lot of hills so I get a lot of range of motion in my hips. Running 11 flat miles kept my hips really tight. I stretched afterwards thinking that would help, but nope. So, I am going to a running store to get some better shoes, and I am going to mix up my runs more so my body doesn't get used to just one way of running. It's so beautiful outside and I can't run! I hate it! But, this was a good lesson for me to learn and I won't make that mistake again.

I got my first ever spray tan on Monday! LOL! The girl who was going to do my competition spray tan happens to live across the street from me, so I figured why not! I will be getting transformation pictures taken next week anyway, so I might as well have a little color! It was so fun! Nothing like showing my boobies to my neighbor on our first face to face meeting!!

I am sitting here enjoying my oats and protein powder. My favorite breakfast! Yesterday, I tried a breakfast pizza and it was pretty yummy! I bought some little gluten free pizza crusts. They are about 3"x3", so personal size (I thought!). I wasn't sure how to get everything cooked right and on the pizza so I put a little cheddar cheese on the crust and baked that for 15 mintues (will cook longer next time), while that baked I cooked some egg whites with 1 whole egg and some turkey sausage. When the pizza crust and cheese were done I topped it with the egg and sausage! It was super good, but too much. I will cut one in half next time or just share with Justin like I did yesterday! My diet has been really good. Not really much to talk about there. I am in such a better place with all that now! Thank goodness! I don't find myself obsessing about my meals and what everyone around me is eating! I stick to carbs and protein for the first two meals, then carbs, protein and veggies for my next two meals and the last meal is protein and veggies. Although last night, I just had protein for dinner.

Oh, another good recipe that I took from another blog I read. It's turkey burgers. You mix ground turkey meat with one packet of ranch dressing powder, dried minced onion, and cheese. I made them using ground chicken last week and they turned out good too. You are only supposed to use 16oz of meat, but I double that, because I dont' want too much of the ranch powder or cheese in each burger, you know, because of the whole dairy issue I have. So I just get a little taste and they are yummy!

I need to blog more! This is getting lengthy! Hope everyone is having a sunshine-filled day like me! Enjoy!

Friday, April 2, 2010

Good Morning! This has been a crazy week! Since I blogged on last Friday this has been my week:

We went to Arkansas for a quick visit with my grandmother. We left Saturday morning and came home Sunday afternoon. We had a great time. We need to go down there more. I came home with a food hangover!

Then Monday and Tuesday were spent curled up with my heating pad. Good times.

By the time Wednesday came around I was ready to get moving and bust out my workouts. I did a 5 mile run in the morning then went and did my workout with Diana. It was an awesome one! They have several competitions going on at Hitch Fit Gym. The most pushups, the longest wall sit and then the most situps in 2 minutes. I beat all the girls in pushups, I did 65! They had to be on your toes, and full range. They put something under our abdomen that we had to go down and touch in order for them to count. The wall sit was the hardest! I did it for 3 minutes and 1 second! Diana was super strict with all the rules. She got out an angle ruler to make sure my legs were at 90 degrees! I have never seen my legs shake so much! I did 78 situps in the 2 minutes. I was kind of surprised by that one. I thought I would get at least 100. So, after all that we went outside, because it was GORGEOUS, and finished my workout on the hill. There is a ridiculously steep hill close to the gym and she had me doing lunges, frog jumps, sneakers, air chairs, and some others I have evidently blocked out!! Whenever I got to the top after doing whatever exercise she had me doing on the way up, she had weights waiting for me and I had to do biceps, shoulders and triceps! Then she raced me up the hill twice and smoked me both times! I must admit, I was surprised (and impressed). She wasn't warmed up and then she wasn't even out of breath at the top. I was GASPING at the top!! Just another reminder of how Diana practices what she preaches!

Thursday was a powerful day! I ran 8 miles, went to karate and then went back to karate in the evening for the new cardio class they have started. I burned 1,800 calories yesterday! I felt so great! I bought myself some new running/workout clothes! I love new workout clothes!

I have kept my diet clean all week. Even during my worst day of my cycle, which was Monday, I ate good! For proteins I stuck with protein powder, egg whites, eggs, turkey, chicken. For carbs I ate oats, apples, sweet potatoes, brown rice noodles and for veggies I ate broccoli and spinach.

Today is running and lifting weights. I am meeting a friend for lunch. The same friend I was supposed to have lunch with last week, but I had to cancel, so we rescheduled for today! Yay! We could not get our sitter for this weekend, so I will be able to keep my diet super tight and get my cardio in and have a great loss come Monday morning!!

That is my weekly recap! I hope everyone has a great weekend! Now I need to get out and run!!